Wow time flies!
You went from being a loud and energetic toddler to being a loud and energetic kid! You are a force to be reckoned with in this world my dear, just as I had predicted you would. How could someone survive through the challenges of your birth and first year without becoming a spit fire?!?!? :)
I love you. You absolutely drive me crazy most days, but I love love LOVE you. You spent 2 sessions in swimming lessons at Foss Swim school and now have moved into the Park and Rec swimming lessons with Wilder. You started them 3 weeks ago and have moved into level 1-as a BIG KID! You are in lessons by yourself, without me or daddy in the water with you! How proud of you we are! Your teacher, Miss Karen, delights over you and calls you all sorts of pet names like sweetie and darling-it's hard for people not to adore you:)
You have become quite the singer-I'm talking an AMAZING singer. I have numerous songs that you have sung in the car recorded as ring tones on my cell phone so that I can share your talent with the world when people call me. You sing into the remote/microphone during American Idol and it is something that daddy and I love. You have made up two songs of your own-we call them "Lulu Warhol original compositions"- one today in the car that sounded like random syllables to the beat, and the other from a few weeks ago called "La Lo Lo". Daddy and I sing "La Lo Lo" often now too:)
On Feb. 1st 2010 we got your ears pierced! You were good at first when they put you on the chair. Unfortunately the gal that did them took 3 attempts to line up the dots on your ears to make sure your piercings would be even which left you getting more and more anxious as time passed. By the time she went to clean your ears with a cotton ball you started getting really upset. Overall the process took about 5 minutes and the majority of your crying happened before your ears were actually pierced-the anticipatory fear was worse than the actual piercing:) Now you proudly show your multi-colored flower earrings which healed quite quickly.
You talk as well as any grade school-er now, though I still have to translate for people that don't see you often. Though you have an amazing vocabulary and can find the words to communicate any thought, you still have the mumbled toddler pronunciation:) You love to ask the question "what XXXXX do?" and it leads to lots of learning as you seek information about the world. Your curiosity is inspiring. "Mommy, what food do?", "Mommy, what people do?", "Mommy, what Michael Jackson do?". Yes- you have fallen for the (recently deceased) Michael Jackson. You watched a concert DVD of his and you went around asking to watch it over and over again for weeks afterward. When we saw commercials for his DVD on TV you would talk about "the king of pop". SO cute!
You start pre-school next week my dear! You will be going to La Petite on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings for awhile and you are so excited. I think you will really blossom being around and playing with other kids your age, and I look forward to all the new things you will learn and do there! They do art each day, have age appropriate science and math lessons, they play outside...all the things I wish that I had time to do with you but don't. It's expensive but I really want you to have the experience, you deserve to have some fun. You get so bored at home with me all day and sometimes being bored leads to some "terrible two" behavior. You can be quite sassy at times, often calling our bluff when daddy and I give you warnings, typical toddler behavior-just slightly exacerbated by the fact that you are so insanely smart:) Daddy, Nana and I often laugh about the fact that you are a 13 year old in a 3 year old's body:) You have taken to "playing" with the dogs, which in grown up speak means harassing them mercilessly, and you seem only to be interested in playing with whatever toy Wilder has in his hands:) I think preschool will offer you opportunities to be social and burn off your energy, it will feed your creativity and allow you to learn and explore things that you won't find in our living room~ I'm SO excited for you, I just know you will have fun! We went there to tour the classroom so you could meet your teacher Miss Jenny, and you were so excited to see all the things you will be able to do and play with. I just know you are going to love every minute, though I'll miss dancing with your at our daily "dance parties":)
We have started saying a nightly prayer and you are getting so good at "prayer hands" and nearly have our prayer memorized. I am so proud to hear you saying much of it along with me. Here is what we say "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guide me through this starry night, and wake with me at morning's light. God bless Lulu and Wilder, mommy and daddy, Nana and Big Meema, Meema and Papa, Erick and Amy, Shaun and Angela and baby Audriana, our pets, all the children of the world and all the animals of the world, Amen." It's really wonderful to see you starting to learn about faith. We have a toddler Bible that daddy often reads from when he reads bedtime stories, and two days ago in the car you asked me "Mommy, what Jesus do?". I swell with pride just thinking about it now:)
You are really into TV, Dora the Explorer and The Disney Princesses are your favorites. Over the last few months we have amassed quite a collection of Disney movies so you can watch all the Princesses. We went to "Yo Gabba Gabba Live" at the Target Center a few weeks ago and you LOVED it! You LOVE to play "Snow White bites the apple" with daddy still, and are getting more and more dramatic each time you play it. I think you are starting to show some very creative and talented acting chops! Today you pretended to "faint" in daddy's arms and stayed in character that way for about 5 minute without even cracking a smile as daddy and I pretended that we didn't know how to break the spell. Wilder has learned to act the part of "prince" and pretty much automatically goes to kiss you whenever you "bite the apple". You are the most beautiful Snow White I have ever seen, which happens to be a phrase you use often. You are also quick to compliment people which I think is so sweet. You will walk up to me and say "I like your hair" or tell daddy "I like your shirt". Yesterday you told Nana that you liked her shoes- you are so delightful. You often tell me that something you like is "the best xxxx I ever seen". In fact, you tell me "mommy, you're the best mommy I ever seen" at least once a day-totally unsolicited and it absolutely makes me want to fall to my knees and cry because I feel so wonderful when you say it. You also like to say "You fill my heart with happiness" to people you love. It makes me so proud as a mom to see how freely and unabashedly offer affection to people because you have learned what you've lived. As challenging as some of our days are, I love to tell you that I love you at least 10 times a day-because no matter what, I do.
I am so in love with you. I am SO happy to be your mom. The last few months have been fraught with challenges and frustration on both our parts as you grow and seek independence, but those difficult times have been far surpassed by the fun we have, the constant laughter and delightful conversations we enjoy, the tender hugs and kisses we share and the loving bond that we have.
I adore you my precious Allura.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
My Adorable Wilder; March 17, 2010
Oh My Adorable Wilder-beast,
How I love you. I am SO happy when you smile that scrunched up cheeky smile that you flash when you know you have done something funny! You are so perceptive about things like that, and are very aware of how your actions affect others. You are such a smart boy already!
You started swimming lessons with Lulu at Foss Swim School over the winter and did a wonderful job. You were a superstar in the class and often followed the teacher's direction better than all the others. You did your 'monkey cheeks' and blew bubbles and used your feet to kick and hands to move water. You can follow all the movements from "The Wheels on the Bus"-all the verses!
You are such a large motor skills boy! You are running with wild abandon, your technique makes daddy and I laugh because you move your arms in this cute and very silly up and down motion along with your feet while you run-it has to be seen to be believed:) It is so insanely precious, just like you. You also love to climb on anything and everything, the toy box to see out the window, the kitchen table, the dining room chairs, our bed, Lulu's bed, the toilet....you can keep up with kids much older than you. It's so sweet to see you so independent now. But what I love is that you always come running back into my arms for a hug- that melts my heart and makes everything in my world good.
Did I mention you are talking??!? You are chatting up a storm, and you are even better able to communicate your feelings through verbal cues other than words too. You are quick to get frustrated these days because you are finally standing up for yourself when your big sister decides that she wants to play with the toy you have. You are good at telling her your feelings even if you don't quite have the words yet. You cry, squeal, and occasionally try to hit-so we are working on that. I know the frustration will quell once you have the communication skills but until the words come, I'm okay with you using your emotions to tell the world how you feel. So far here are the words you can say, in the order that you learned to say them:
mama
dada
bubble
ka-ka (cracker/cookie/food)
spunbah or spunbob (Spongebob Squarepants)
nana
beh-bir (Big Bird)
din (drink)
JUICE! (another word for a non-clear colored drink, only offered with an excited tone)
papa
Doooaaa (Dora)
and possibly aipane (airplane-though it may have been a fluke, we have only heard it once)
You also LOVE to sing, sometimes you offer this cute high pitched "oooohhh" when you hear us sing, and sometimes you just go "ahhhhhhh!!!!" in whatever pitch you feel like at the moment. If anyone ever hears you just yelling for no reason, it's likely that you saw a commercial or something on TV with someone singing and just decided to sing along. I LOVE to hear you sing, honestly its something that makes me swell with pride because you are so happy when you sing and you are only what, like, maybe 15 months old?!? I wonder if it will end up being a passion for you like it was for me? Just today I was singing a Beyonce song called "All the Single Ladies, Put a Ring on it" and you were mimicking me with the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" part and daddy and I were laughing SO hard!
I think it was Lulu that taught you to sing, since she loves to sing and sings to you often! It seems that anything she does these days you are sure to do, you have become quite the copycat of your big sister. Sometimes this leaves us laughing with tears of happiness pouring down our faces (like when you sing together) and sometimes it leaves me wincing (like when you both decide to make a game of screaming and yelling the same syllables). When she does any type of dance or movement, you are sure to be there trying to do it a few seconds later. It is SO sweet to see the bond you two have, it's truly one of the things in my life I am proudest of, aside from simply bringing you both into the world. I hope so desperately that you grow up to be friends and stay close. You have each other in this world and my hope is that you stand together always. So copy away my cute little guy, just try to avoid copying the terrible two behavior:)
What craziness we have endured recently! After almost 3 weeks of constant sickness (runny noses, pink eye, coughing, colds) you are feeling better but still have some lingering issues. Your noses still runs and you are having massive diarrhea that has had us very concerned the last few days. Up until today you have barely had a bite to eat, in fact, two days ago you turned away everything I offered and were only willing to eat one banana the whole day! We have been giving you Pedialite to keep you hydrated and lots of extra love. As much as my heart is wrenched when you are sick, there is a part of me that loves when you need me so much. The last few months have been all about you becoming mobile and independent. There is nothing more enjoyable to me than when you run to me from across the room (with your little hands pumping up and down alternately!) and throwing yourself on me in a huge hug. Since you haven't been feeling well the last few weeks, you have spent a LOT of time laying on my shoulder. As challenging as it can be to accomplish anything with a little boy that whines when put down, I absolutely love it and would never turn you away. In fact, I give up trying to do anything when you want to cuddle with me and lay on me, I'd rather just enjoy that time with you. Sometimes after you have laid with your head on my shoulders for a long time, to the point where I have to wonder if you are still awake, your little head will pop up and you will put your hands around my head and give me the bigges "m-wah!" kiss right on my lips. Its your way of communicating to me that you love me and since you initiate those kisses, they mean more to me than you can ever EVER know.
You have finally *chosen* something that you love and it has ended up being Elmo and Spongebob Squarepants. You also love the show Yo Gabba Gabba! along with Lulu. We ended up taking you both to Sesame Street Live! a few months ago and we took you to Yo Gabba Gabba! Live this last weekend, you were in heaven both times-totally mesmerized:) Daddy and I love opportunities to make you guys feel special and loved. I am so thankful that we have the means to do fun things like that as a family, we are very blessed-always remember that.
Tonight we went out as a family to run errands. We started out walking through Toys R Us to find you an Easter present. You excitedly shouted "Doa" every time you saw Dora and "Spabob" everytime you saw Spongebob Squarepants-both of which are very popular right now so you saw them often. You are so fun! Then we went to the Twins Pro Shop so daddy could use the gift card he won to buy you a Twins hat...something he has been wanting to do for a long time. You grew out of your infant sized one so he has wanted to get you a bigger one for months. Then we went to dinner at Eddingtons where you dipped your bread sticks in my cheese soup and attempted to use a spoon to get soup to your mouth. It was quite a mess, and you were very loud-embarrassingly loud and frustrated at first because you were hungry, all the people in the restaurant were staring at us, but once you calmed down and got some food in your tummy it turned into a fun dinner. Daddy even remarked on how cool it was to see you so casually reach into a bag to grab something, since when you were little you had a real issue with pulling things out of bags. You would stick your hand into a bag, but you never quite figured out how to or cared to pull whatever it was out of the bag-silly boy-it was just one of your quirks:)
Wild Man, I love you so completely. I'm off to bed now because it is late, and the whole time I fall asleep I will secretly be hoping that at some point overnight you wake up so you can sleep in bed with me and cuddle. You are growing so fast and my night time cuddling is on borrowed time so I relish it every chance I get:) I love you more than life my precious son.
How I love you. I am SO happy when you smile that scrunched up cheeky smile that you flash when you know you have done something funny! You are so perceptive about things like that, and are very aware of how your actions affect others. You are such a smart boy already!
You started swimming lessons with Lulu at Foss Swim School over the winter and did a wonderful job. You were a superstar in the class and often followed the teacher's direction better than all the others. You did your 'monkey cheeks' and blew bubbles and used your feet to kick and hands to move water. You can follow all the movements from "The Wheels on the Bus"-all the verses!
You are such a large motor skills boy! You are running with wild abandon, your technique makes daddy and I laugh because you move your arms in this cute and very silly up and down motion along with your feet while you run-it has to be seen to be believed:) It is so insanely precious, just like you. You also love to climb on anything and everything, the toy box to see out the window, the kitchen table, the dining room chairs, our bed, Lulu's bed, the toilet....you can keep up with kids much older than you. It's so sweet to see you so independent now. But what I love is that you always come running back into my arms for a hug- that melts my heart and makes everything in my world good.
Did I mention you are talking??!? You are chatting up a storm, and you are even better able to communicate your feelings through verbal cues other than words too. You are quick to get frustrated these days because you are finally standing up for yourself when your big sister decides that she wants to play with the toy you have. You are good at telling her your feelings even if you don't quite have the words yet. You cry, squeal, and occasionally try to hit-so we are working on that. I know the frustration will quell once you have the communication skills but until the words come, I'm okay with you using your emotions to tell the world how you feel. So far here are the words you can say, in the order that you learned to say them:
mama
dada
bubble
ka-ka (cracker/cookie/food)
spunbah or spunbob (Spongebob Squarepants)
nana
beh-bir (Big Bird)
din (drink)
JUICE! (another word for a non-clear colored drink, only offered with an excited tone)
papa
Doooaaa (Dora)
and possibly aipane (airplane-though it may have been a fluke, we have only heard it once)
You also LOVE to sing, sometimes you offer this cute high pitched "oooohhh" when you hear us sing, and sometimes you just go "ahhhhhhh!!!!" in whatever pitch you feel like at the moment. If anyone ever hears you just yelling for no reason, it's likely that you saw a commercial or something on TV with someone singing and just decided to sing along. I LOVE to hear you sing, honestly its something that makes me swell with pride because you are so happy when you sing and you are only what, like, maybe 15 months old?!? I wonder if it will end up being a passion for you like it was for me? Just today I was singing a Beyonce song called "All the Single Ladies, Put a Ring on it" and you were mimicking me with the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" part and daddy and I were laughing SO hard!
I think it was Lulu that taught you to sing, since she loves to sing and sings to you often! It seems that anything she does these days you are sure to do, you have become quite the copycat of your big sister. Sometimes this leaves us laughing with tears of happiness pouring down our faces (like when you sing together) and sometimes it leaves me wincing (like when you both decide to make a game of screaming and yelling the same syllables). When she does any type of dance or movement, you are sure to be there trying to do it a few seconds later. It is SO sweet to see the bond you two have, it's truly one of the things in my life I am proudest of, aside from simply bringing you both into the world. I hope so desperately that you grow up to be friends and stay close. You have each other in this world and my hope is that you stand together always. So copy away my cute little guy, just try to avoid copying the terrible two behavior:)
What craziness we have endured recently! After almost 3 weeks of constant sickness (runny noses, pink eye, coughing, colds) you are feeling better but still have some lingering issues. Your noses still runs and you are having massive diarrhea that has had us very concerned the last few days. Up until today you have barely had a bite to eat, in fact, two days ago you turned away everything I offered and were only willing to eat one banana the whole day! We have been giving you Pedialite to keep you hydrated and lots of extra love. As much as my heart is wrenched when you are sick, there is a part of me that loves when you need me so much. The last few months have been all about you becoming mobile and independent. There is nothing more enjoyable to me than when you run to me from across the room (with your little hands pumping up and down alternately!) and throwing yourself on me in a huge hug. Since you haven't been feeling well the last few weeks, you have spent a LOT of time laying on my shoulder. As challenging as it can be to accomplish anything with a little boy that whines when put down, I absolutely love it and would never turn you away. In fact, I give up trying to do anything when you want to cuddle with me and lay on me, I'd rather just enjoy that time with you. Sometimes after you have laid with your head on my shoulders for a long time, to the point where I have to wonder if you are still awake, your little head will pop up and you will put your hands around my head and give me the bigges "m-wah!" kiss right on my lips. Its your way of communicating to me that you love me and since you initiate those kisses, they mean more to me than you can ever EVER know.
You have finally *chosen* something that you love and it has ended up being Elmo and Spongebob Squarepants. You also love the show Yo Gabba Gabba! along with Lulu. We ended up taking you both to Sesame Street Live! a few months ago and we took you to Yo Gabba Gabba! Live this last weekend, you were in heaven both times-totally mesmerized:) Daddy and I love opportunities to make you guys feel special and loved. I am so thankful that we have the means to do fun things like that as a family, we are very blessed-always remember that.
Tonight we went out as a family to run errands. We started out walking through Toys R Us to find you an Easter present. You excitedly shouted "Doa" every time you saw Dora and "Spabob" everytime you saw Spongebob Squarepants-both of which are very popular right now so you saw them often. You are so fun! Then we went to the Twins Pro Shop so daddy could use the gift card he won to buy you a Twins hat...something he has been wanting to do for a long time. You grew out of your infant sized one so he has wanted to get you a bigger one for months. Then we went to dinner at Eddingtons where you dipped your bread sticks in my cheese soup and attempted to use a spoon to get soup to your mouth. It was quite a mess, and you were very loud-embarrassingly loud and frustrated at first because you were hungry, all the people in the restaurant were staring at us, but once you calmed down and got some food in your tummy it turned into a fun dinner. Daddy even remarked on how cool it was to see you so casually reach into a bag to grab something, since when you were little you had a real issue with pulling things out of bags. You would stick your hand into a bag, but you never quite figured out how to or cared to pull whatever it was out of the bag-silly boy-it was just one of your quirks:)
Wild Man, I love you so completely. I'm off to bed now because it is late, and the whole time I fall asleep I will secretly be hoping that at some point overnight you wake up so you can sleep in bed with me and cuddle. You are growing so fast and my night time cuddling is on borrowed time so I relish it every chance I get:) I love you more than life my precious son.
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